The present invention relates, in general, to the field of protective carrying cases and methods. More particularly, the protective carrying case and method of the present invention is of especial utility effectuating in the portability and tamper resistant accessibility of electronic equipment, particularly a video cassette recorder (VCR).
Numerous devices and methods have been heretofore described for the protection of various electronic and other equipment by means of a protective case. One example is U.S. Pat. No. 3,960,300 issuing to Dickler on June 1, 1976 for a "Tamper Proof Backpack". In the field of electronic equipment, in particular, such previously described devices and methods include: U.S. Pat. No. 2,467,471 issued to Goldstein for a "Portable Audio Cover" and U.S. Pat. No. 4,006,764 issued to Yamamoto et al. on Feb. 8, 1977 for a "Protection Case for Tape-Recorder or Radio-Set."
In conjunction with such equipment, various means have been described for attempting to prevent tampering with an encased piece of equipment. See for example U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,543,146 issued to Bace on Feb. 27, 1951 for a "Television Cabinet with Sliding Removable Chassis" and 4,058,993 issued to Stubbings on Nov. 22, 1977 for a "Lock Box".
In the field of video playback units, there has previously been described a "Video Playback Unit in Inacceptable Container", U.S. Pat. No. 3,761,643 issued to Keeler on Sept. 25, 1973.
Current market estimates show that only 5% of all households own a video cassette recorder. Yet, a significant portion of the remaining households would at least, on occasion, desire access to one in conjunction with their television receiver. With the wide spread accessibility of numerous video cassettes currently available for short-term rental to the public, it would be highly desirable to also afford the public an opportunity to rent a video cassette recorder at the same time. In this application, the term recorder includes a record and/or player.
In order to effectuate this goal, the unit must be ruggedly protected yet be light in weight and pleasing in appearance. Moreover, the enclosed electronics must be readily accessible to qualified service technicians yet tamper-resistant to unauthorized access by the unit lessee. Further, while the user must have access to the recorder's electrical connections to hook-up the device, he must be protected from inadvertant contact with dangerous electrical currents within the protective case. Still further, the rental unit must have as long a service life as possible to minimize repair costs yet allow the user to operate all essential controls for a playback function. As the liability for private video recording is currently unresolved and the record function of a video cassette recorder causes the most tape-head wear, it would be desirable to present a user with access to only essential playback controls and present the least confusing number of buttons and switches to the unsophisticated user. None of the above-listed nor previously described units are capable of providing either this multitude of functions or fulfilling the various needs of the rental video cassette recorder market.